Leonard Nimoy
| Place of birth = Boston, Massachusetts | Contribution(s) = Regular performer (TOS, TAS, seven films); guest performer (TNG); director (two films); writer (four films); executive producer ( ) | Character(s) = Spock (primary role) | Image2 = Spock, 2267.jpg }} Leonard Simon Nimoy is the actor who is best known for his Emmy Award-nominated portrayal of Spock, the half Human, half Vulcan first officer and science officer aboard the [[USS Enterprise (NCC-1701)|USS Enterprise]]. Originating the role on Star Trek: The Original Series, he went on to play him again on Star Trek: The Animated Series, the first six ''Star Trek'' movies, and the Star Trek: The Next Generation episodes and . He has also left his mark on the Trek franchise as a director, writer, and producer. Footage of his role from the TOS episode was reused for the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode . Nimoy also voiced Spock in the video games Star Trek: Strategic Operations Simulator, Star Trek: 25th Anniversary, and Star Trek: Judgment Rites. At San Diego's Comic Con on , Paramount Pictures announced that Nimoy will reprise his role as Spock for the upcoming film simply called . It was also announced that Heroes star Zachary Quinto will portray a younger version of Spock. http://www.iesb.net/index.php?option=com_ezine&task=read&page=2&category=16&article=2904 This will mark the first time Nimoy has played Spock since . Biography Nimoy was born in Boston, Massachusetts just four days after his Star Trek co-star, William Shatner. Like Shatner, he is of Russian Jewish ancestry (his surname means "an outsider who can't speak Russian" in Russian) and like his character of Spock, Nimoy is a vegetarian. He entered Boston University on a dramatic scholarship but dropped out and headed for the West Coast knowing there he would find more lucrative opportunities in the acting business. In 1954 he married Sandi Zober, with whom he had two children – Adam and Julie. In the hospital scene in , a voice can be heard paging "Dr. Sandi Zober." His current wife, Susan Bay, starred in two episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, as Admiral Rollman in and . Leonard Nimoy was briefly a member of the U.S. Army Reserve and received discharge in 1955 as a Sergeant. His Army personnel file was destroyed in 1973 during a major fire at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, Missouri. In December 2002, Nimoy announced his retirement from acting. He plans to spend his retirement as a photographer. Nimoy enjoys a new career in his senior years as a professional photographer showing his prints all over the United States and throughout the world. Early career Nimoy began his Hollywood career with small roles in the 1951 films Queen for a Day and Paramount Pictures' Rhubarb. Nimoy then played the title role in the boxing drama Kid Monk Baroni and played the Martian invader Narab in the science fiction serial Zombies of the Stratosphere (later edited and released as a feature, Satan's Satellites), both released in 1952. In 1954, he made an uncredited appearance in the classic science fiction film Them!, as did Richard Bellis, Lawrence Dobkin, and William Schallert. Four years later, he had a supporting role in another science fiction film, The Brain Eaters. In the mid-1950s, Nimoy began appearing in various television guest shots, with his first being a 1954 episode of Dragnet (he would make a second appearance on this series four years later, with his co-star Celia Lovsky). Between 1958 and 1960 alone, Nimoy was seen on such classic television shows as Sea Hunt, Wagon Train (working with future Trek co-stars Roy Jenson, Susan Oliver, and Phillip Pine, as well as Nehemiah Persoff), The Tall Man (two episodes, including one with Marianna Hill and Charles Seel), Outlaws (in an episode with Alfred Ryder), The Rebel (with Arlene Martel), and Bonanza (in an episode written by Gene L. Coon). Nimoy's subsequent TV credits include a 1961 episode of Rawhide and a 1963 episode of Perry Mason with Arthur Batanides, a 1961 episode of with Dean Stockwell (and concocted by Sam Rolfe), a 1962 episode of Laramie with Michael Forest, and a 1962 episode of Sam Benedict with Paul Carr and Joanne Linville, as well as numerous episodes of the classic western series Gunsmoke, including one in 1963 with Bill Zuckert and another in 1966 with Richard Webb. He was also seen in a 1962 episode of The Untouchables, which, like Star Trek, was produced by Desilu. In 1964, he appeared in two episodes of the classic sci-fi anthology series, The Outer Limits – one with Joseph Ruskin, Barry Russo, and Willard Sage and another with Peter Brocco, Marianna Hill and John Hoyt. He also co-starred with Sally Kellerman in a 1966 episode of A Man Called Shenandoah. His feature film credits during the 1960s consisted of a supporting role in the 1963 drama The Balcony (with Peter Brocco), an uncredited appearance in the acclaimed thriller Seven Days in May, and a role opposite Michael Forest and Robert Ellenstein in the 1966 drama Deathwatch (featuring music by Gerald Fried). Nimoy also produced the latter film. Nimoy first worked with his future Trek co-star DeForest Kelley (Doctor "Bones" McCoy) in a 1959 episode of 26 Men entitled "Trail of Revenge". Prior to Star Trek, he would again work with Kelley in a 1963 episode of The Virginian. Nimoy also appeared in two 1965 episodes of The Virginian, working with Michael Ansara, Hal Baylor, Richard Beymer, Rex Holman, Sherry Jackson, and Ken Lynch. In 1964, Nimoy and his soon-to-be Star Trek co-star William Shatner worked together for the first time. This occasion occurs in the Joseph Sargent-directed episode of The Man from U.N.C.L.E. entitled "The Project Strigas Affair". In this episode, Nimoy and Shatner are on opposite sides, with Nimoy playing the right-hand-man of a diplomat attempting to initiate a war between the United States and the Soviet Union and Shatner playing the reluctant U.N.C.L.E. recruit who must help foil the diplomat's plot. Nimoy and Shatner would begin working together on Star Trek just two years later. The Star Trek years Late in 1963, Nimoy landed a guest role on The Lieutenant, a series starring Gary Lockwood and created by Gene Roddenberry. The episode he appeared in, entitled "In the Highest Tradition", co-starred Roddenberry's future wife, Majel Barrett. Roddenberry was also developing a science fiction series at the time and thought Nimoy would be perfect for it. Although he was initially up for the role of the ship's chief medical officer, Nimoy accepted the role as a half-Vulcan/half-Human named Spock on Roddenberry's series, entitled Star Trek, which changed his life. The first Star Trek pilot, , was filmed in November and December of . Although the pilot was rejected by NBC, the studio allowed Roddenberry to produce a second pilot, which became . Many cast changes were made between the first pilot and the second, and Nimoy was the only principal cast member from "The Cage" to return for the second pilot. Following this pilot, Star Trek was picked up as a series. During his time on Star Trek, Nimoy was responsible for many traits which have become associated with Spock or Vulcans in general, including the Vulcan salute and the Vulcan nerve pinch. For his supporting role as Spock, Nimoy was nominated for an Emmy Award for each of the show's three years. Despite this, it was while working on Star Trek Nimoy became an alcoholic and he became desperate if he could not have a drink after the day at work was over; because of that he also became suicidal and depressed. (''Star Trek: After They Were Famous, Part Four'') Fortunately, Nimoy was able to get past these personal problems and continue his acting career. Low ratings led to Star Trek's cancellation in . Including the two pilots, Nimoy appeared in all 79 episodes of the series, the only actor besides William Shatner to do so. After Star Trek After the cancellation of Star Trek, Nimoy moved on to another Desilu series, , playing the regular character of Paris for two seasons. He joined the series as a replacement for the departing Martin Landau, who, ironically, was up for the role of Spock before Nimoy got the part. After Mission: Impossible, Nimoy starred with Lloyd Haynes, Malachi Throne, William Windom, and John Winston in the ABC Movie of the Week Assault on the Wayne (for Paramount Television) and co-starred with , , and TOS guest actor Jeff Corey in MGM's western film Catlow, both released in 1971. He then starred in three 1973 TV movies: Baffled! (as a race car driver who has visions of people dying), Columbo: A Stitch in Crime (as a murderous doctor), and The Alpha Caper (co-starring James B. Sikking, Paul Sorenson, Vic Tayback, and Kenneth Tobey). Nimoy made his directorial debut with a 1973 episode of Night Gallery entitled "Death on a Barge", which featured one-time TOS guest actor Lou Antonio. Also in 1973, Nimoy made his Broadway debut in a revival of the play Full Circle, working with future Star Trek: Enterprise guest star Peter Weller. In 1976, Nimoy began hosting a television series called In Search of..., a syndicated documentary program dealing with topics such as Bigfoot and other monsters, Atlantis, Stonehenge, Jack the Ripper, and other unsolved mysteries. Although the series ended in 1982, the A&E Network and later A&E's The History Channel aired In Search of... throughout the 1990s and the early 2000s. Return to Trek In 1973 Nimoy reprised the role of Spock for the first time since 1969, voicing the character in Star Trek: The Animated Series for Filmation. Although this series ended in after only 23 episodes, a new live-action series, Star Trek: Phase II, began production shortly thereafter. Nimoy, however, opted out of this series and his character was replaced by a young Vulcan named Xon, who would have been played by David Gautreaux. While Paramount was busy bring Phase II to fruition, Nimoy moved on, continuing to host In Search of..., appearing in the Broadway production of Equus, and starring in the 1978 remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, earning a Saturn Award nomination from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films for his work on the latter. By this time, production on Phase II had ceased and the pilot for that series was being turned into the first Star Trek film, . Nimoy was ultimately persuaded to reprise Spock for The Motion Picture, which debuted in the United States on and marked the beginning of a new era for Star Trek and for Nimoy. Nimoy received a Saturn Award nomination for his portrayal of Spock in The Motion Picture. He went on to play Spock in , although he was at first reluctant to do so. He signed on only after being promised that Spock would have a death scene in the film. Nimoy got his wish and Spock seemingly perished at the end of Wrath of Khan, but Nimoy would return to the role for four more films: , , , and . He also directed and co-wrote the stories for The Search for Spock and The Voyage Home and executive produced and co-wrote the story for The Undiscovered Country. He earned Saturn Award nominations for directing The Search for Spock and for his performance in and direction of The Voyage Home. In , Nimoy was asked to appear as Spock in , the seventh Star Trek feature and the first to feature the crew of Star Trek: The Next Generation. The film's script originally had a role for Nimoy, but it did not meet to Nimoy's satisfaction and he declined the offer. Explaining his reason for turning down the film, Nimoy remarked: :"There was no Spock role in that script...there were five or six lines attributed to Spock...but it had nothing to do with Spock...I said to co-writer Rick Berman "you could distribute these lines to any one of the other characters and it wouldn't make any difference." And that is exactly what he did. There was no Spock function in the script. I have always tried to make a contribution to these movies. There was no contribution to be made in that movie." Other film and television works Between his work on the Star Trek films, Nimoy worked on numerous television projects. In 1981, he directed, starred in his own television adaptation of the one-man play Vincent, portraying Vincent Van Gogh's brother, Theo. In 1982, he received his fourth Emmy nomination for his supporting role in the telefilm A Woman Called Golda and appeared in the mini-series Marco Polo, starring Kenneth Marshall in the title role and co-starring F. Murray Abraham and David Warner. Also during this time, Nimoy directed an episode of William Shatner's new series, T.J. Hooker, reportedly in preparation for directing Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (Special Edition) Special Features). He would later guest star on the series, which also starred Star Trek: Deep Space Nine performer James Darren. Nimoy later appeared in the James Goldstone-directed TV movie The Sun Also Rises, based on the Ernest Hemingway novel. He then worked with director Tim Burton to play the villain in the Fairie Tale Theatre production of Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp. Nimoy also lent his voice to the role of Galvatron in The Transformers: The Movie, the 1986 film based on the animated series. Among the others who voiced characters in the movie are Michael Bell, Roger C. Carmel, Walker Edmiston, Clive Revill, Frank Welker, and Orson Welles. In 1987, Nimoy directed the hit comedy 3 Men and a Baby, his first non-''Star Trek'' feature film. Subsequent films he directed were The Good Mother (1988), Funny About Love (1990, featuring Michael Bofshever and Celeste Yarnall), and Holy Matrimony (1994, starring Jeffrey Nordling and John Schuck); frequent Trek editor Peter E. Berger edited all three of these films. Nimoy's latest directorial effort was a 1995 episode of the short-lived UPN series Deadly Games, starring Christopher Lloyd. Nimoy starred in the 1991 television drama Never Forget, directed by Joseph Sargent, and voiced the mysterious Mr. Moundshroud in the 1993 animated movie The Halloween Tree. In addition, he voiced Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in the 1994 live-action/animated fantasy The Pagemaster, which also featured the voices of Patrick Stewart, Whoopi Goldberg, Frank Welker, George Hearn, Robert Picardo, and Christopher Lloyd. In 1995, Nimoy appeared on The Outer Limits under the direction of his son, Adam. Later projects In 1996, Nimoy co-founded Alien Voices with John de Lancie and writer-producer Nat Segaloff. The audio production company/troupe produced several science fiction audio productions (including the two "Spock Vs. Q" audios) and a few televised specials for the Sci-Fi Channel: The First Men in the Moon in 1997 and The Lost World in 1998. Nimoy appeared in both of these films along with de Lancie, Ethan Phillips, and Dwight Schultz. William Shatner also starred in the first project; Roxann Dawson and Armin Shimerman had roles in the second. In 1998, Nimoy appeared in a made-for-TV adaptation of Aldous Huxley's book, Brave New World, along with Miguel Ferrer, Daniel Dae Kim, and Aron Eisenberg. He then voiced a trio of characters in the 2000 CGI-animated film Sinbad: Beyond the Veil of Mists, along with John Rhys-Davies. After voicing the role of the King of Atlantis in Walt Disney's 2001 film Atlantis: The Lost Empire (along with Phil Morris and David Ogden Stiers), Nimoy announced his retirement from acting, deciding instead to focus on photography. Despite his retirement, Nimoy made appearances with William Shatner in several commercials for Priceline.com in 2005 and 2006. Also in 2006, Nimoy did commercials for the arthritis pain medication, Aleve, in which Nimoy was concerned that his arthritis would prevent him from delivering the Vulcan salute to his fans at a convention. at the Comic-Con International (2007).]] In 2007, it was announced that Nimoy will come out of retirement to play Spock in the 2008 Star Trek feature being produced and directed by J.J. Abrams. When proclaiming his reasons for accepting the role, he stated it was because the film has "a great director" (Abrams), "a wonderful actor playing the young Spock" (Zachary Quinto), and "a fabulous script" (written by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman). He summed up his decision by stating "it was logical". http://trekmovie.com/2007/07/26/abrams-confirms-nimoy-and-qunito-still-wants-shatner/ In a July 2007 interview with Anthony Pascale of trekmovie.com, Nimoy gave three reasons for coming out of retirement to play Spock for the new film. His first reason was that it was Star Trek and that he owed it to the franchise to give his attention to the project. The second reason was his admiration for producer/director J.J. Abrams, and the third was that Spock had an "interesting", "functional" role in the script. http://trekmovie.com/2007/08/01/interview-with-leonard-nimoy-part-1/ Production on Star Trek is set to begin in November 2007. Appearances Nimoy appeared as Spock in: * Star Trek: The Original Series (every episode) * Star Trek: The Animated Series (voice only, every episode) * * * * * * * * (archive footage) * Additional Appearances Image:Mirror Spock.jpg|Spock (mirror) Image:Spock 2 and Spock.jpg|Spock 2 Image:ExcelsiorSpacedock.jpg|[[USS Excelsior|USS Excelsior]] computer voice (credited as Frank Force) * TOS: ** "Return to Tomorrow" as Henoch (in Spock's body) ** "Whom Gods Destroy" as Garth of Izar (taking the form of Spock) Directing credits * * Writing credits * (uncredited) * (uncredited) * (story) * (story) Games *''Star Trek: Strategic Operations Simulator'' *''Star Trek: 25th Anniversary'' *''Star Trek: Judgment Rites'' Music Discography ;Albums (vinyl LPs): * Mr. Spock's Music from Outer Space (Dot Records, 1967) * Two Sides of Leonard Nimoy (Dot Records, 1968) * The Way I Feel (Dot Records, 1968) * The Touch of Leonard Nimoy (Dot Records, 1969) * The New World of Leonard Nimoy (Dot Records, 1970) ;Reissued LPs: * Leonard Nimoy: Space Odyssey (Pickwick Records, US, 1972) * Mr. Spock Presents Music From Outer Space (Rediffusion Records, UK, 1973) * Outer Space/Inner Mind (Famous Twinsets/Paramount Records, US, 1974) * Leonard Nimoy (Sears Records, US, 1988) ;Spoken Word LPs: * The Martian Chronicles (Caedmon Records, 1976) * Illustrated Man (Caedmon Records, 1977) * War of the Worlds (Caedmon Records, 1977) * Green Hills of Earth (Caedmon Records, 1977) * The Mysterious Golem (JRT Records, 1982) ;Singles (45s): * The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins/Cotton Candy (Dot Records, 1967) * Theme From Star Trek/Visit To A Sad Planet (Dot Records, 1967) * I'd Love Making Love To You/Please Don't Try to Change My Mind (Dot Records, 1968) * Consilium/Here We Go 'Round Again (Dot Records, 1968) * The Sun Will Rise/Time to Get It Together (Dot Records, 1969) * Outer Space/Inner Mind (Paramount Records, 1970) ;Cassettes: * Leonard Nimoy/Micro-Cassette (Dot Records, release date unknown) * You Are Not Alone (MCA Records, 1987) ;CDs: * Highly Illogical (Rev-Ola Records, UK, 1993) * Leonard Nimoy Presents: Mr. Spock's Music From Outer Space (Varése Sarabande, US, 1995) * Spaced Out: The Very Best of Leonard Nimoy & William Shatner (Universal Music/Phantom, UK, 1997) * Golden Throats: The Great Celebrity Sing Off (Rhino Records, US, 1988, LP; 1992, CD) * Golden Throats 2: More Celebrity Rock Oddities (Rhino Records, US, 1991) * Golden Throats 3: Sweet Hearts of Rodeo Drive (Rhino Records, US, 1995) * Spaced Out: The Very Best of Leonard Nimoy & William Shatner (Universal Music/Space, Canada, 1997) * Dr. Demento's 30th Anniversary Collection (Rhino Records, US, 2000) * Dr. Demento's Hits From Outer Space (Rhino Records, US, 2002) See also *''I Am Not Spock'' *''I Am Spock'' *''Leonard Nimoy: A Star's Trek'' *''The Man Between the Ears: Star Trek's Leonard Nimoy'' *''Spock Vs. Q'' *''Spock Vs. Q: The Sequel'' External links * * * LeonardNimoyPhotography.com - official Leonard Nimoy website * Official Leonard Nimoy fan club * Thanks to Leonard Nimoy - fan site about the artistic work of Nimoy * Maiden Wine - tribute site dedicated to the musical career of Leonard Nimoy * Leonard Nimoy at TriviaTribute.com * [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMzOLPuwGxk Star Trek: After They Were Famous, Part Four] at YouTube Category:Performers Category:TOS performers Category:TAS performers Category:Movies performers Category:TNG performers Category:DS9 performers Category:Directors cs:Leonard Nimoy de:Leonard Nimoy es:Leonard Nimoy fr:Leonard Nimoy nl:Leonard Nimoy pl:Leonard Nimoy